Children's books + Top 10s | The Guardianhttp://www.theguardian.com/childrens-books-site/childrens-books-site+books/series/toptens
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William Sutcliffe's top 10 books to read aloud to childrenhttp://www.theguardian.com/childrens-books-site/2014/may/27/top-10-books-to-read-aloud-to-children-william-sutcliffe
There is no better way to bring adults and children into harmony this half term or any other time than through a book. The Carnegie shortlisted author of <a href="http://www.guardianbookshop.co.uk/BerteShopWeb/viewProduct.do?ISBN=9781408838433">The Wall</a> and <a href="http://www.guardianbookshop.co.uk/BerteShopWeb/viewProduct.do?ISBN=9781471120237">Circus of Thieves </a> picks his favourite out-loud reads for every age up to ten<p>Anyone who has ever spent more than a minute in the same room as a human being under the age of ten will have noticed that adults and children have rather different energy levels and interests. </p><p>Fortunately, a device has been invented which is unmatched in its ability to bring these two species into physical and mental synchrony. This device is known as the book. The following is a personal choice of my favourite books for achieving inter-generational harmony, one for each age up to ten.</p> <a href="http://www.theguardian.com/childrens-books-site/2014/may/27/top-10-books-to-read-aloud-to-children-william-sutcliffe">Continue reading...</a>Children and teenagersBooksCultureChildren's books: 7 and underChildren's books: 8-12 yearsTue, 27 May 2014 10:00:00 GMThttp://www.theguardian.com/childrens-books-site/2014/may/27/top-10-books-to-read-aloud-to-children-william-sutcliffeChristopher Thomond/GuardianA device has been invented to bring children and adults into perfect harmony. It's called… a book.
Photograph: Christopher Thomond, the GuardianChristopher Thomond/GuardianROTHERHAM, 14th July 2011 - Children and parents reading together at the Imagination Library at the Coleridge Children's Centre in Rotherham. Commissioned for Education. Photograph: Christopher Thomond for the GuardianWilliam Sutcliffe2014-05-27T10:00:00ZSam Angus's top 10 war bookshttp://www.theguardian.com/childrens-books-site/2013/nov/11/childrens-war-books-top-10-sam-angus
The author of Soldier Dog and A Horse Called Hero picks her favourite novels and diaries from the two world wars<p>&quot;My books <a href="http://www.theguardian.com/books/data/book/unclassified/9781447220053/soldier-dog" title="">Soldier Dog</a> and A Horse Called Hero are about animals in war and were inspired by true accounts of animal endeavour during the first and second world wars. I am not a historian but I do love researching; the diaries and manuscripts and private letters are for me the things that make the subject come alive. Stories with an element of truth in them are particularly wonderful to write and seem to engage children more than others. The story of Solider Dog, for example, is drawn from the lives of two first world war messenger dogs.&quot;</p><p>Here are some of my favourite war-time stories:</p> <a href="http://www.theguardian.com/childrens-books-site/2013/nov/11/childrens-war-books-top-10-sam-angus">Continue reading...</a>Children and teenagersWar (children and teens)Teen booksNon-fiction (children and teens)BooksCultureFictionHistorical fiction (children and teens)Anne FrankMon, 11 Nov 2013 16:53:45 GMThttp://www.theguardian.com/childrens-books-site/2013/nov/11/childrens-war-books-top-10-sam-angusEverett Collection/RexAnne Frank. 'Her innocence, honesty and courage are luminous and heart-breaking'. Photograph: Everett Collection/RexEverett Collection/RexAnne Frank. 'Her innocence, honesty and courage are luminous and heart-breaking'. Photograph: Everett Collection/RexSam Angus2013-11-11T16:53:45ZCharlie Fletcher's top 10 adventure classicshttp://www.theguardian.com/books/2012/dec/19/charlie-fletcher-top-10-adventure-classics
The author of Far Rockaway lists 10 swashbuckling tales of derring-do that carried him off to the 'isle of story'<p>I wrote Far Rockaway in part because I could not get my two children to plough through what they saw as the thick shell of heavy, antiquated prose encasing Treasure Island and Kidnapped to get to the stories within. The good news is that fine Story will always out, one way or another: that supposedly impenetrable prose really worked for them when read aloud, and they listened happily to the audiobooks on two long journeys to the Outer Hebrides. Heresy to say it in these pages, probably, but I think Story, Vitamin S, is more important than actual reading…</p><p>The other reason I wrote it was because I'd been lucky enough to chair a discussion with Alan Moore where he talked about his theory about Idea Space, a separate and universally accessible place in which mental events occur. It got me thinking about where stories and their character might go to exist outside us. This allowed me not only to shamelessly steal his cleverer idea and apply it to a kind of Story Space in which half the book occurs, but to remix and mash up some of the characters from classic adventures and hopefully share them with a new audience. Who might even then go back and discover them in the original.</p> <a href="http://www.theguardian.com/books/2012/dec/19/charlie-fletcher-top-10-adventure-classics">Continue reading...</a>FictionClassicsHarper LeeAdventure (children and teens)Children's books: 8-12 yearsTeen booksHistorical fiction (children and teens)JRR TolkienRobert Louis StevensonRudyard KiplingTintinWed, 19 Dec 2012 17:01:00 GMThttp://www.theguardian.com/books/2012/dec/19/charlie-fletcher-top-10-adventure-classicsPRInside story … Charlie FletcherSportsphoto/AllstarInside story... A scene from Steven Spielberg's The Adventures of Tintin: The Secret of the Unicorn. Photograph: Sportsphoto/AllstarPRInside story … Charlie FletcherCharlie Fletcher2012-12-19T17:01:00ZSophie McKenzie's top 10 teen thrillershttp://www.theguardian.com/childrens-books-site/2012/nov/21/sophie-mckenzie-top-10-teen-thrillers
The author of the Missing series picks her favourite page-turners, from The Hunger Games and Noughts and Crosses to Rebecca and The Secret History<p>&quot;I have to admit to struggling with all aspects of this list! For a start, how do you pick just 10 books from the amazing range of stories available to young people today? More importantly, what defines a book as a 'teen' novel or, come to that, a thriller? I read (and try to write) books where the central premise draws me in, the characters (of whatever age) are compelling and the story grips and then propels me through the pages. </p><p>As you'll see from the list below, my definition of thriller is pretty broad – covering fantasy, science fiction, historical and paranormal fiction. I've kept my focus mostly on books where the main character may not necessarily be a teen, with all the challenges that period of change brings with it, but certainly feels less than powerful in the world they inhabit. Indeed, the last four books on this list are really adult books. But, however you define them, these are all great reads…&quot;</p> <a href="http://www.theguardian.com/childrens-books-site/2012/nov/21/sophie-mckenzie-top-10-teen-thrillers">Continue reading...</a>Children and teenagersTeen booksBooksCultureThrillersSuzanne CollinsHunger GamesWed, 21 Nov 2012 10:33:00 GMThttp://www.theguardian.com/childrens-books-site/2012/nov/21/sophie-mckenzie-top-10-teen-thrillersMurray Close/Murray Close'The Hunger Games has a fantastic premise, brilliantly realised, as teenagers fight each other to the death on live TV.' Photograph: Murray CloseMurray Close/Murray Close'Brilliantly cast': Jennifer Lawrence as Katniss Everdeen in The Hunger Games. Photograph: Murray CloseSophie McKenzie2012-11-21T10:33:00ZAnthony Horowitz's top 10 apocalypse bookshttp://www.theguardian.com/books/2012/oct/04/anthony-horowitz-top-10-apocalypse
Fiction writers seem to delight in concocting all kinds of dystopian demises for mankind. Here, from the author of Oblivion, are some of the finest<p>Dystopia. Apocalypse. Death and destruction. There are two problems when you set out to write a book in this vein. The first is that you find yourself very limited as to what you can actually describe. After all, there are so many ways that the world can end – war, disease, alien invasion, zombification etc. And whatever the cause, the end result is going to be pretty much the same: mass starvation, anarchy, long-term suffering and slow death. Unless you're writing a screwball comedy (and there have been attempts), there's hardly going to be much variation in the mood of the book either.</p><p></p> <a href="http://www.theguardian.com/books/2012/oct/04/anthony-horowitz-top-10-apocalypse">Continue reading...</a>Anthony HorowitzFictionClassicsBooksCultureTeen booksThu, 04 Oct 2012 10:49:38 GMThttp://www.theguardian.com/books/2012/oct/04/anthony-horowitz-top-10-apocalypseSportsphoto Ltd/Allstar/DimensionThe waste land … Viggo Mortensen and Kodi Smit-McPhee in the 2009 adaptation of Cormac McCarthy's The Road. Photograph: Sportsphoto Ltd/Allstar/DimensionSportsphoto Ltd/Allstar/DimensionThe waste land … Viggo Mortensen and Kodi Smit-McPhee in the 2009 adaptation of Cormac McCarthy's The Road. Photograph: Sportsphoto Ltd/Allstar/DimensionAnthony Horowitz2012-10-04T10:49:38ZJasper Fforde's top 10 bedtime storieshttp://www.theguardian.com/childrens-books-site/2012/jun/21/jasper-fforde-bedtime-top-10
Bedtime stories are part of the fabric of life, says Jasper Fforde. Here he picks 10 of the best books to read aloud – from The Cat in the Hat to Now We Are Six<p>Bedtime stories are vitally important in the same way as sitting round a table for family meals. It's part of the unspoken dialogue between family members, part of the glue that binds, an essential part of that long and slow journey to figure out what it is to be human. It also defines the simple notion that reading is essentially a force for good, is enjoyable, and is a habit worth forming. The golden age of bedtime stories ranges from almost nought to about eight, when the act of reading is moved from parent to child. I've found the most productive time for reading aloud is about the six-year-old mark, where children can figure out more complex plots, and we've made the move to chapter books with multiple characters and plots that while not overtly complex, certainly carry subtle and important ideas. This is my random top ten, in rough age order. </p> <a href="http://www.theguardian.com/childrens-books-site/2012/jun/21/jasper-fforde-bedtime-top-10">Continue reading...</a>Children and teenagersChildren's books: 8-12 yearsChildren's books: 7 and underTeen booksDr SeussJulia DonaldsonRoald DahlAA MilneBest booksThu, 21 Jun 2012 13:51:48 GMThttp://www.theguardian.com/childrens-books-site/2012/jun/21/jasper-fforde-bedtime-top-10Rex Features/REX FEATURESBursting with invention ... Mike Myers in the 2003 film of The Cat in the Hat. Photograph: Rex FeaturesRex Features/REX FEATURESMandatory Credit: Photo By REX FEATURES
Mike Myers
'DR SEUSS: THE CAT IN THE HAT' FILM - NOV 2003
STILLS Photograph: Rex FeaturesJasper Fforde2012-06-21T13:51:48ZJosh Lacey's top 10 pseudonymous bookshttp://www.theguardian.com/childrens-books-site/2012/may/11/josh-lacey-top-10-pseudonymous-books
A surprising number of authors choose not to use their real name when they publish their books. Josh Lacey, who has written a series of books under the name Josh Doder, picks his favourite writers with pen names<p>&quot;When I was wrote my first book, A Dog Called Grk, I was working for this very newspaper, writing and editing reviews for the books pages. I didn't want people to get confused about who I was or what I did, so I thought it would be sensible to have two different names, one for books and the other for journalism. I invented a new name for myself: a pen name, a nom de plume, a pseudonym. </p><p>Many other writers have chosen to publish their books under a pseudonym, from canonical novelists such as George Eliot and Joseph Conrad to modern bestsellers such as Lee Child and John le Carr&eacute;. Writing under another name is liberating; hiding behind a pseudonym allows you to shrug off the restrictions of your gender, your class, your ordinary identity, and become whoever you like. </p> <a href="http://www.theguardian.com/childrens-books-site/2012/may/11/josh-lacey-top-10-pseudonymous-books">Continue reading...</a>Children and teenagersChildren's books: 7 and underChildren's books: 8-12 yearsTeen booksBooksCultureFri, 11 May 2012 11:43:44 GMThttp://www.theguardian.com/childrens-books-site/2012/may/11/josh-lacey-top-10-pseudonymous-booksLMKTintin's creator used a pseudonym - but you need to say his name in a French accent to understand how it came about. Photograph: LMKLMKTintin. Photograph: LMKJosh Lacey2012-05-11T11:43:44ZMegan Miranda's top 10 books set in a wintry landscapehttp://www.theguardian.com/childrens-books-site/2012/jan/06/top-10-wintry-landscapes
The thriller writer picks her favourite books to chill your bones<p>Megan Miranda was a scientist and high school teacher before writing Fracture, her first novel. It was inspired by her fascination with scientific mysteries, especially those associated with the brain. She lives in North Carolina. </p><p><a href="http://www.guardianbookshop.co.uk/BerteShopWeb/viewProduct.do?ISBN=9781408817391">Buy Fracture at the Guardian bookshop</a></p> <a href="http://www.theguardian.com/childrens-books-site/2012/jan/06/top-10-wintry-landscapes">Continue reading...</a>Children and teenagersTeen booksBooksCultureFri, 06 Jan 2012 07:33:44 GMThttp://www.theguardian.com/childrens-books-site/2012/jan/06/top-10-wintry-landscapesDavid Cheskin/PA'A snow storm can trap people - friends or enemies - together...' Photograph: David Cheskin/PADavid Cheskin/PAForecasters have predicted more snow for Wales and parts of central England. Photograph: David Cheskin/PAMegan Miranda2012-01-06T07:33:44ZLiz Pichon's top 10 funny books with pictureshttp://www.theguardian.com/childrens-books-site/2011/nov/09/liz-pichon-top-10-funny-books
From classic writers such as Spike Milligan and Dr Seuss to newer names Lauren Child and Andy Stanton, the winner of this year's Roald Dahl funny prize picks her favourite laugh-out-loud illustrated stories<p><a href="http://www.lizpichon.co.uk/home.htm">Liz Pichon</a> studied graphic design at Middlesex Polytechnic and Camberwell School of Art in London. After working in the music industry as an art director she began creating picture books and My Big Brother Boris, published by Scholastic in 2004, won the Smarties book prize silver award. Her first illustrated story for older readers, The Brilliant World of Tom Gates, won the <a href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/childrens-books-site/2011/nov/08/roald-dahl-funny-winner">2011 Roald Dahl funny prize</a>. The <a href="www.booktrust.org.uk/RDFP">Roald Dahl funny prize</a> is managed by independent literature charity Booktrust. </p><p>&quot;Some of the books my children would ask me to read at bedtime were so dreary I'd be the one falling asleep! I'd often make up my own story to go with the pictures, but that only worked when they were little (and couldn't read). It was soon… &quot;You missed a bit&quot; or &quot;you turned over four pages&quot; … &quot;did I? Are you sure?&quot; </p> <a href="http://www.theguardian.com/childrens-books-site/2011/nov/09/liz-pichon-top-10-funny-books">Continue reading...</a>Children and teenagersChildren's books: 7 and underChildren's books: 8-12 yearsBooksCultureRoald DahlRoald Dahl funny prizeLauren ChildDr SeussFunny books (children and teens)Liz PichonWed, 09 Nov 2011 12:39:00 GMThttp://www.theguardian.com/childrens-books-site/2011/nov/09/liz-pichon-top-10-funny-booksRex FeaturesDr Seuss's Cat in the Hat: 'as fresh and bright and crazy' as everRex FeaturesLiz Pichon2011-11-09T12:39:00ZLauren St John's top 10 animal adventureshttp://www.theguardian.com/childrens-books-site/2011/jul/21/lauren-st-john-top-10
The author of the White Giraffe series and the Laura Marlin mysteries picks her favourite animal stories, from Black Beauty and the Butterfly Lion to Born Free<p>Lauren St John was born in Zimbabwe (then Rhodesia). When she was 11 her family moved to Rainbow's End farm and game reserve, the subject of her memoir, and she grew up surrounded by animals, including eight horses, two warthogs and a pet giraffe. After nearly a decade as the Sunday Times's golf correspondent followed by a spell in the US, riding the tour buses of country stars such as Emmylou Harris, Steve Earle and the Dixie Chicks, she wrote the bestselling White Giraffe series. Dead Man's Cove, the first in her new mystery series about 11-year-old detective, Laura Marlin, won the 2011 Blue Peter favourite story and book of the year awards. The latest Laura Marlin mystery is A Laura Marlin Mystery: Kidnap in the Caribbean.</p><p>&quot;The idea for The White Giraffe, my first children's book, came to me out of nowhere in December 2005 when I was walking down a London street on my way to do Christmas shopping. The whole plot just appeared in my head. I pictured a girl riding a giraffe, saw the fire that would change her destiny and send her to live on a South African game reserve, and knew that her name would be Martine. When I was a child growing up in a farm and game reserve in Zimbabwe I actually had a pet giraffe, so I thought, 'wouldn't it be the coolest thing on earth if you could actually ride a giraffe?'<br />People often ask me if The White Giraffe is autobiographical, but although my background hopefully gives it veracity, it isn't. What I did draw on was one of the most intense and rewarding relationships of my childhood, my love for my horse, Morning Star, and the animal books I read then, which portrayed the similarly rich relationships of other children or adults with otters, horses, lions and even tadpoles. These are some of my favourites.&quot;</p> <a href="http://www.theguardian.com/childrens-books-site/2011/jul/21/lauren-st-john-top-10">Continue reading...</a>Children's books: 8-12 yearsTeen booksChildren and teenagersBooksCultureAnimalsThu, 21 Jul 2011 09:20:00 GMThttp://www.theguardian.com/childrens-books-site/2011/jul/21/lauren-st-john-top-10Everett Collection / Rex Features/Everett Collection / Rex FeaturesElizabeth Taylor in the film adaptation of National Velvet. Photograph: Everett Collection / Rex FeaturesEverett Collection / Rex Features/Everett Collection / Rex FeaturesElizabeth Taylor in National Velvet. Photograph: Everett Collection / Rex FeaturesGuardian Staff2011-07-21T09:20:00ZCornelia Funke's top 10 fairytaleshttp://www.theguardian.com/childrens-books-site/2011/jul/06/cornelia-funke-top-10-fairytales
The Inkheart author picks stories with 'images that speak to us in far more than just words'<p>Cornelia Funke was born in Germany and began her career as an illustrator, taking up writing only when she grew bored with the stories by other people she was working on. She is probably best known for her Inkheart trilogy, following the adventures of Meggie Folchart, a teenager who can bring fictional characters into the real world by reading aloud. Her latest book, Reckless, is published in paperback this week.</p><p><a href="http://www.guardianbookshop.co.uk/BerteShopWeb/viewProduct.do?ISBN=9781906427658" title="">Buy Reckless at the Guardian bookshop</a></p> <a href="http://www.theguardian.com/childrens-books-site/2011/jul/06/cornelia-funke-top-10-fairytales">Continue reading...</a>Children and teenagersBooksTeen booksCultureChildren's books: 8-12 yearsWed, 06 Jul 2011 11:38:18 GMThttp://www.theguardian.com/childrens-books-site/2011/jul/06/cornelia-funke-top-10-fairytalesTristram KentonGeorgina Roberts in the Trestle Theatre Company's production of The Birthday Of The Infanta. Photograph: Tristram KentonTristram KentonGeorgina Roberts in the Unicorn Theatre's production of The Birthday Of The Infanta. Photograph: Tristram KentonCornelia Funke2011-07-06T11:38:18ZCat Clarke's top 10 books with teens behaving badlyhttp://www.theguardian.com/childrens-books-site/2011/apr/04/cat-clarke-top-10-teens
No one wants to read about perfect people acting impeccably. The best young adult fiction features gangs, pranks and even pyromania<p>Cat Clarke was born in Zambia and brought up in Edinburgh and Yorkshire, which has given her an accent that tends to confuse people. She's written non-fiction books about exciting things like cowboys, sharks and pirates, and now writes young adult novels. She also has <a href="http://www.catclarke.blogspot.com" title="her own blog">her own blog</a>.</p><p>Cat's first YA novel, <a href="http://www.guardianbookshop.co.uk/BerteShopWeb/viewProduct.do?ISBN=9781849163941" title="Entangled">Entangled</a> – a story of dangerous secrets and electrifying attraction told through the eyes of 17-year-old Grace – was published by Quercus in January 2011.</p> <a href="http://www.theguardian.com/childrens-books-site/2011/apr/04/cat-clarke-top-10-teens">Continue reading...</a>Teen booksChildren and teenagersBooksChildren's books: 8-12 yearsCultureMon, 04 Apr 2011 08:53:17 GMThttp://www.theguardian.com/childrens-books-site/2011/apr/04/cat-clarke-top-10-teensNigel R Barklie/Rex FeaturesThe kids: are they alright? Photograph: Nigel R Barklie/Rex FeaturesNigel R Barklie/Rex FeaturesTeenager screaming. Photograph: Nigel R Barklie/Rex FeaturesCat Clarke2011-04-04T08:53:17ZMichelle Harrison's 10 best bad fairieshttp://www.theguardian.com/childrens-books-site/2011/mar/23/michelle-harrison-bad-fairies
Forget all those tales of wishes granted and teeth collected - the best fairies are deceitful, malicious and bad<p><a href="http://www.michelleharrisonbooks.com/" title="">Michelle Harrison</a> won the Waterstone's children's books prize in 2009 with her debut novel, The Thirteen Treasures, a Grimm-style story of a girl who can see fairies. She followed it with The Thirteen Curses and The Thirteen Secrets, the third instalment of the trilogy.</p><p>&quot;The first fairy story to have an impact on me was one invented by my older sister, Theresa. It was of a fairy who had been killed by a wicked witch and buried in our garden. The lack of a happy ending led me to wonder if it was true and, morbid child that I was, I dug in the flowerbeds in search of that fairy. After that I quickly became familiar with the usual tales of good fairies granting wishes and collecting teeth, and gradually lost interest, preferring stories of adventure, mystery, and ghosts.</p> <a href="http://www.theguardian.com/childrens-books-site/2011/mar/23/michelle-harrison-bad-fairies">Continue reading...</a>BooksCultureFairytalesChildren and teenagersFairiesWed, 23 Mar 2011 13:52:18 GMThttp://www.theguardian.com/childrens-books-site/2011/mar/23/michelle-harrison-bad-fairiesTristram Kenton/Tristram KentonGenesia Rosato (Carabosse) in The Sleeping Beauty Photograph: Tristram KentonTristram Kenton/Tristram KentonGenesia Rosato (Carabosse) in The Sleeping Beauty Photograph: Tristram KentonMichelle Harrison2011-03-23T13:52:18ZDavid Almond: top 10 children's bookshttp://www.theguardian.com/books/2004/jan/26/booksforchildrenandteenagers.bestbooks
<p>David Almond won the 2003 Whitbread Children's Book award for The Fire Eaters (Hodder), the tale of a young boy starting at grammar school in 1950s Tyneside.<br /><a href="http://www.davidalmond.com/">Visit David Almond's website</a></p> <a href="http://www.theguardian.com/books/2004/jan/26/booksforchildrenandteenagers.bestbooks">Continue reading...</a>Children and teenagersBooksCultureBest booksMon, 26 Jan 2004 00:00:00 GMThttp://www.theguardian.com/books/2004/jan/26/booksforchildrenandteenagers.bestbooksGuardian Staff2004-01-26T00:00:00Z